Chynna Phillips: “Sometimes When You Hit The Bottom, You’ve Got Nowhere To Go But Up”

Chynna Phillips burst onto the music scene in the early ’90s with her BFFs, her trendy short blonde ‘do and her catchy songs. With nine children between the three of them, Chynna and her longtime pals, Wendy and Carnie Wilson, are reuniting in the studio for a new Wilson Phillips Christmas album! Chynna, 42, sat down with Celebrity Baby Scoop to discuss their new record, her three kids, her struggles with anxiety and her 15-year marriage to Billy Baldwin: “We’re in a very, very strong place in our marriage.”CBS: Tell us all about the new Wilson Phillips album.

CP: “It’s going to be great. It’s a new Christmas record. Glen Ballard is producing it. He’s a very famous producer and somebody that we worked with on the first and second Wilson Phillips records. We consider him our fourth member because he really understands our sound. He’s an amazing song writer; he understands melody and harmony. We’ve got a lot of the old classics like Winter Wonderland, Santa Claus is Coming to Town, Rock Around the Christmas Tree, Silver Bells and then we’ve got a few original Christmas songs on there as well.”

CBS: I talked to Carnie Wilson earlier this year about her hopes for a Wilson Phillips Christmas album. Were you and Wendy easily swayed?

CP: “Yes, Carnie’s been wanting to do a Christmas record for years. She’s been hounding us! She’s been saying, ‘It will be timeless and Christmas comes every year.’ So finally we all had a window in our schedules. There’s nine children between the three of us things can get crazy sometimes. We just decided it was now or never. And it just so happened that Sony Records knocked on our manager’s door and asked if Wilson Philips would be interested in doing a Christmas record this year, so it all worked out perfectly. We were ready and willing to do it in Carnie’s garage; in the studio in her house. But we didn’t end up having to do it that way.”

CBS: Will you girls be going on tour to promote the album?

CP: “We’re going to do some specials, but not a tour.”

CBS: Tell us about the close relationship between the three of you.

CP: “Carnie, Wendy and I have been best friends forever. Let’s see, I’m 2 months older than Carnie, so we met then and we have been best friends ever since. And of course Wendy is Carnie’s sister. The three of us decided to form a band together in 1981. We started singing together, harmonizing together and we decided that we wanted to pursue a career in music together. We met up with one of my mom’s producer friends. His name was Richard Carey. He hooked us up with Glen Ballard. Once we had Glen in the picture, he helped us really form our sound and that was it. We recorded our first record which did really well and we toured all around the world. Ten million records later, we did another album. That one did quite well too, although not quite as well as the first one. Then we decided we needed a break and took some time off.”

CBS: And then all the babies came in…

CP: “Exactly! Then all the babies came in. The three of us are great friends and we try to keep in touch as much as possible when we’re not working. It’s not always easy. But the love is always there.”

CBS: How have the three of you remained so close-knit?

CP: “I think that it comes down to honesty. We’re a lot different than we were twenty years ago. We’ve grown up so much. We’re so much more mature and we handle situations much more gracefully and compassionately. The three of us are better at communicating with one another. That really helps to put a lot of our difference at ease because we’re able to communicate so much easier.”

Vance is our little athlete. He’s totally into football and basketball. He’s got a huge heart – really a compassionate kid. He’s full of life. He’s our prankster. He’s the one who’s always keeping everyone laughing.

Brooke is the diva. She has three outfit changes a day, at least. She’s really bright and loves horses. She’s actually at horse camp with her aunt right now. She loves to color, loves to swim, very helpful at school with her friends. She’s a great singer.

Jameson is very studious. Loves school, loves her girlfriends. She’s totally into socializing with her girlfriends. Loves playdates and sleepovers. She’s also got a great voice and writes beautiful poetry.”

CBS: Both the girls are singers. Any chance the kids might be joining the music industry or showbiz?

CP: “It’s a possibility. I would never stop them from pursuing that if that’s what they wanted to do. I wouldn’t let them do it professionally until they’re 18. But once they’re 18, they can do whatever they want to do. I’ll definitely nurture that creative side if they want to take piano, guitar, dance, or acting lessons. I will support and nurture that. But again, I would never throw them into the lion’s den as children. But I would be very happy if they chose to do that.”

CP: “I’m doing great, thank you for asking. Very positive. Billy and I are so happy – we’re really in a great place.”

CBS: You recently went to rehab for anxiety. Any advice for people who are experiencing anxiety?

CP: “All I really want to say about that is that anxiety can be very different for each individual. Everyone has different symptoms. If somebody feels that they’re experiencing anxiety, they need to see their doctor to be diagnosed. There are support groups out there for anxiety. They should definitely take it very seriously and remember that it can be progressive. So early intervention and treatment is really important. Just remember that there’s lots of natural and homeopathic ways to treat anxiety. Drugs are not always the answer.”

CBS: Why do you think anxiety is such an epidemic in our gender?

CP: “Osama Bin Laden.”

CBS: Withing days of filing for divorce from husband Billy Baldwin, you withdrew the proceedings. How are you two doing now?

CP: “Things are great. We’re in a very, very strong place in our marriage. Sometimes when you hit the bottom, you’ve got nowhere to go but up and that’s exactly what happened.”

CBS: Are you working with any charities?

CP: “I’m supporting the Los Angelitos Orphanage in Tiawana, Mexico. You can access my website Family Change through Safari. I’m on my way to the orphanage in about 2 weeks. I’m really excited.”

CBS: Are you worried you’ll want to take some of the babies home with you?

CP: “I can’t! The Mexican government doesn’t allow you to take children out of their orphanages. They’re too worried about sex trafficking and drug trafficking. I will go on my own first, and then I might go with my older daughter one day.”

CBS: Why do you think anxiety is such an epidemic in our gender?
CP: “Osama Bin Laden.”

WTF??? That’s crazy. The question was about anxiety and being female — it’s like she didn’t even hear the question. The scary thing is that this is the perfect example of a knee-jerk response from conservative Americans who blame the Muslim world for everything that is going wrong in the world. For the record, the US military has killed far, far more innocent civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan than Osama bin Laden has ever (or will ever) kill.

The real cause of her anxiety is Fox News, I suspect…

(And, I just want to say that I have a lot of sympathy for people who suffer from panic/anxiety disorders. It’s an awful condition — several people in my family have struggled with anxiety, and it’s been very difficult. I’m happy to hear that she has found relief and a place of peace.)

Anonymous

i know, what a weird non sequitor of an answer. CBS, why did you not ask her to clarify?! This is totally nonsensical. What does Osame Bin Laden have to do with women and anxiety? Totally weird and makes me worry if her mental health is ‘all there’ tbh…

Anonymous

yeah she sounds so weird! maybe next time she should go in a mental institution instead of rehab…

Cindy

What? I agree, weird response….but throwing in Fox News is pretty much the same thing she did. She said “Osama Bin Laden”….how does that translate to her blaming all Muslims? She didn’t say Muslims, she said one particular name.

anon

I agree that fear-mongering media spokes-people, like those on Fox News, are the source of her fears. They really do blame him (and Al-Qaeda) for everything!!

Anonymous

i agree, what a strange answer. did she have the questions ahead of time and really want to blame something on bin laden?
anyway, i wish they were making a regular album, i love their music.